Return of the Chrysallis
by Lichylichy
Summary: A story idea that sprouted from English class in the fifth grade. I enjoyed making stories even back then. Well, I usually would have an explanation about events, but I'd like to keep you guessing! I will make a prequel for this, ya'know, when I have the chance.
1. Trailer

**Alright. I know I have homework. But, I'm taking a quick break to put up this idea that I've had in my head since the 5th grade. Yup. That long. I'd like to thank my A.L.P. teacher Mr. Carroll, for without whom, this probably would have never existed. Alright, bold is one of those depp narrator voices. Italicized is Elm talking as a narrator. He has a kid's voice, sort of scratchy and a few octaves over normal.**

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**Welcome to a world of beauty.**

It shows a bright jungle, with a butterfly flying lazily through.

**A world filled with amazing creatures.**

A giant turtle sluggishly walks through a desert.

**A world out of time.**

It shows an olden country.

**Welcome to a world, where wishes come true.**

There is a kid, sitting in a high throne.

**This, is Ivalice.**

Shows a great expanse of land.

**And, so it this.**

The camera streaks for a minute, before showing a small, snow-covered town.

**Welcome, to St. Ivalice**

"Hey New Kid!" A guy yells, throwing a snowball at a yellow-haired kid as he passes.

"Geek!" A shorter one yells, his hoodie wrapped around his waist. He throws a snowball at the kid.

_Hi. My name is Elm. I just moved from Arizona to the snowy scape that is St. Ivalice. Sure there are bullies. But the real problem is that... things aren't as they appear._

The snowy schoolyard is changed into a bleak desert.

_IT followed me here. I just can't rid myself of IT._

There is a bright blue light shinging in the background.

_The thing is. I'm not normal. Not since IT. And IT has taken so much from me._

Elm wakes up in a sweat, his eyes moving around the dark room.

_That's why we moved here. Me and my mom. However, IT has followed. And I just can't shake the feeling that The Event will repeat itself. I cannot allow that._

A book is placed in between five kids, one with rough brown hair, a girl with pink hair, the boy with yellow hair, a boy in a wheelchair, and Elm.

_But, that's crazy talk. I mean, what can one wish do?_

The golden-haired boy thrusts out a sword, which connects with a humanoid lizard's head.

A man in a cloak sends a giant fireball at a huge bug.

A girl with rabbit ears pulls back on her bow.

"I remember." A short, stuffed-animal-like creature said. "You, kupo!"

_A whole damn lot._

**Return of the Chrysallis**

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**A/N: Well, what'cha think? I'll get around to it at some point before my fourth Titan story.**


	2. Before school and theres already trouble

**Alright. I've been busy with my other stories. So, for your viewing pleasure... I'm pretty sure reading a book counts as viewing... I'm going off on a tangent! Anyway, I've decided to start the first true chapter of this story. I had the idea when I was in the fifth grade, and the story ISN'T GOING TO CHANGE ALL THAT MUCH! That's how good of a writer I was. Anyway, let's move on. Roll film! ~Lichylichy**

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**"She's mine** **now." **The girl smirked, darkness coming from her eyes. The boy had a gun to her head, his finger shaking over the trigger. **"Do it. Pull the trigger."** She smirked. **"Is that really the best you got? Pathetic!" **The boy is slapped twice across the left cheek, in rapid succession. The boy falls to the ground. She kicks him in the stomach, causing him to cough up blood. **"Pathetic human. You should never have done it. She's been screaming it at you this whole time."** The boy tries to get up, but the girl pushes his head back down with a foot. The boy flops down painfully.

"Give her back." The by coughed blood.

**"And what if I don't? What are you going to do then?"**

"Then I'll guess I do this." The boy smirked, pulling the old book from his cloak. The girl's eyes widen, more darkness pouring out, floating beside her head.

**"NNNOOOOO!" **The girl screams.

"I wish that I never stole the Chrysallis." The boy smirked.

_**"NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**_The girl screeched as everything was filled with light.

* * *

(Protoganist POV)

I sit up, breathing heavily, a cold sweat plastered on my body. I glance at the clock, and groan. Midnight. Again. For the last week. Why did the nightmares keep coming back? I stand up and slip out of my red bunk bed, landing on my hands and throwing myself back up so that I was crouching on the ceiling. I walk slowly to the small mirror taped up there, and I look in. There was a nub on my forehead, slowly receding back into my head. It was an ivory color, almost like bone. I swished the slowly-receding tail twice, before it pulled back into my spine. The right side of my face had turned back to normal.

"Why? Did my wish not count?" I ask myself, as my feet lost any adhesion to the ceiling and landed on the pile of pillows that I had set up yesterday night. I stared at the ceiling. That damn book. Why? I wished that I never stole it. What does it all mean? If I never stole it then I should have never remembered and... tears streaked my face. And maybe Evangeline wouldn't have disappeared. I fade back into unconcious.

* * *

I wake up to something wet, yet rough in my face. I bolt up, sending Arria away.

"Arria!" There was a puff of smoke, and where an unnatural green cat once stood, there was a girl with green hair that brushed the floor, and matching green cat-like ears poking through the top. A green tail curled behind her, coming from the white dress. She adjusted her glasses, and smiled teasingly.

"I'm a naughty kitty." She purred.

"Uggh. Why can't you wake me up like a normal person?"

"Cause I'm not a normal person." She said, putting on her best 'innocent' face. "Oh, and your mom wants you down for breakfast." I open the door, and jump from the railing, swan diving onto the couch below. Arria happily walked down on all fours.

"Arria!" I yell-whisper. I glance out of the corner of my eye, where mom was closing the fridge.

"Oh!" With a slight pop, Arria was a cat once more. "Nya! That better?" She asked, curling up on my lap.

"No. It's not better until you can figure out how to change that hair color of yours."

"I ain't changing it. It's my natural color. Besides, your a fine one to talk. Mr. Pink-hair." My face turns a deep red, to match the false color of my hair.

"Elm! Stop talking to your cat!" My mom yelled, brushing the pink hair from her eyes. She was still pretty young, about twenty-eight. She and dad... well, dad wasn't around anymore. "Come have some eggs!"

"I'll get breakfast at school." I reply. I pull the bow onto Arria's sleak body.

"Arigatou gozaimasu!" Arria purred.

"Your welcome." I reply, picking her up.

"Ooooh! are we going to take the fun way?" She purred happily.

"You know it." I walk out the door, locking it behind me. Checking to make sure noone was looking, I took a run at the wall of the nearby house, took a leap, and pushed off. I hit the next wall hands first, thrusting off to the next wall, and with one more kick I was on my house's roof.

"I can never get tired of that." She purred.

"You know, for a second there, you almost sounded decent." I got a claw to the face for that. I jump to the next roof, in the direction of the school.

"G-G-Get away." I stop where I was. That sounded like trouble. I stop my jumping to see what the problem was. I glance down. There were three people, who appeared to be thugs of some kind, though they were too young. Maybe a bunch of bullies? One of them had a thick green scarf wrapped around his neck and a cocky smirk on his face. There was a short person with a grin plastered to his face, a blue cap pulled over his head. Then there was a rather nasty peice of work, most likely the leader of the group, in a purple sweater. His hair was a rather dirty, messy clump of what I assume was once a piss-yellow color.

"Hey Mewt. Is that a teddy bear?" The leader asked, snatching the stuffed bear out of the small boy's grasp.

"G-Give him back!" There was a loud tearing sound as the bear was torn in half.

"Oops." He smirked.

"Arria." I say.

"Ready." She responds, hopping down onto the roof. She jumped down into the alleyway, a flash of smoke and Arria landed with a clang on the dumpster, causing the bullies and Mewt to jump. "Nya! Let's see what'cha made of!" She hissed, nails extending into claws. The boys charged, not knowing the world of pain that were about to enter. The one with the blue cap got a quick boot to the face, and was then grabbed by the scruff of the neck, and was sent into the other short one. The two landed in a heap next to her boots. The leader held his fists up, ready to punch the person's lights out. Arria stepped into the light, giving a big puppy dog face. "Y-You wouldn't hit a girl would you?" The leader's fists didn't waver. "I didn't want to do this." She said, reaching down... and lifted up her skirt. The leader fainted, blood spewing from his nose. I sighed loudly, scaling down the wall. I held out a hand and my pointed hat appeared in my hand. I put it on, and a blue cloak appeared around me. I landed square on the floor and glanced at the mess Arria had made.

"Did you really have to flash him?" I ask, my voice becoming deep and gravelly.

"He wouldn't put his hands down." Arria said, straightening the bow on her waist.

"And you didn't even leave one for me. How selfish." I glance around. The kid, Mewt, was in a corner, cowering. I pick up the mangled remains of the teddy bear and hold them up so he could see. "Hey. You wanna see a magic trick?" I don't wait for him to answer, as I shot a blast of blue sparks through the bear. It puffed up, until it was as large as it was before. The string flew together, stitching the parts together. The blood sank into the bear, and vanished. I hand Mewt the bear.

"H-How'd you-" He looked up, but we were already back on the roof. I take off my hat, and my cloak disappears. Arria changed back into a cat. I jump down from the building, cause we were really close to school. I take one step and I was falling backwards, towards the ground. I land hard, pain shooting up my arm. I pick myself off the ground, as does Arria. I could see a wide-eyed Mewt, looking around for something.

"Watch where your going!" I sneer. I had to keep a low profile. Bully was low profile.

"S-Sorry." He said, rushing off in the opposite direction.

"What do you think is wrong with him?" Arria asked.

"I don't know." I say, walking in the direction of school.

* * *

**Well, the first real chapter a couple weeks early. That turned out better than I thought! I must admit, Arria wasn't in my original story, but she popped into my head and I couldn't help it. She made things real funny! AHAHAHAHA! **


	3. School, no one likes it

**Well, Elm and Arria are off to school! This is where it sort of coinsides with the game, but I'm going to be adding my own, special touches. Enjoy! ~Lichylichy**

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I sigh. School. How can these things be so... so... normal?

"Nya! Are you ready for a day of learning?"

"Are you ready for a day in the cold?"

"Nya!" She growled angrily, but hopped onto the ground, tail swishing. "Have a good day at school."

"Thanks." I say. Sometimes she wasn't so bad.

"Don't go looking up anyone's skirt!" Nevermind. I enter the small school building, looking for a Mr. Leslaie's class. A boy with a blue shirt and golden hair walks past me.

"Excuse me?" The boy stops and turns to me. "I'm new to St. Ivalice. Can you please point me to Mr. Leslaie's class?"

"..." He doesn't answer.

"..."

"..." He shrugs, before moving on.

"... Thanks!" I yell after him.

"Don't mind him. I haven't been able to get him to talk all morning." I turn to see a girl with long pink hair and bright green eyes. My cheeks turn a bright red. "I'm guessing your new here."

"Yeah. Name's Elm." I hold out a hand for her to shake.

"Ritz. Elm... you're in Mr. Leslaie's class, right?" Rit asked. I nod. "I'm in there too. Follow me." So we walk towards the class together.

* * *

(Arria's POV)

"... A pickin' his teeth with a carpet tack, polly wolly doodlong day." I sang, walking along the roof tops.

"Ow! What'd I do Guiness?" A voice asked below. There were the three bullies from before, arguing. The short one with the green jacket having just been whacked on the back of the head by the one with the blue cap, Guiness.

"It's your fault that we got beat up, Lyle." Guiness replied.

"Would you two shut up!" The leader yelled.

"Yes Colin." Guiness and Lyle responded quietly.

"We'll get him back. The weather man says it'll snow!" Colin yelled. Guiness and Lyle smile lopsidedly. They head off in the direction of the school. My eyes narrow. Something was going to happen, I just know it.

* * *

(Elm's POV)

I was seated in a rather isolated seat in the corner, most of the seats around the room were empty. A girl whose name was Prisya, a nice brunette that sat two seats to the right of me, and the girl that helped me earlier, Ritz, was sitting right behind me. It wasn't very big, just enough for eight people to sit comfortably. Of course, there was another desk at the back center. A different girl, a blonde this time, walked in, flustered.

"Sharline. You're on time." Mr. Leslaie said, surprised.

"Yeah." She looked around the classroom. "Though, I can't say that about the others." The bell rang overhead. She sat down right beside me. I was starting to get a little flustered. Now, when you live with Arria, waking up to a girl licking herself (naked, mind you), nothing will ever fluster you. Except, being in the room filled with girls. I'm just glad Mr. Leslaie wasn't. The boy that to speak to me when I asked him for directions barged in, his face red and he was panting heavily.

"You're late."

"Thcspbmefk." The blonde-haired boy mumbled unintelligibly.

"What?" Mr. Leslaie asked, confused. The boy was just silent as he sat down at a desk with a name plate made from blackboard that read Marche, but someone had thought it funny to write New Kid over it. He sighed loudly, before sitting down in the seat. next in, to my surprise, was Mewt, now teddyless. He sat down in the desk at the very back, right behind Marche. Right afterwards were a rather scuffed up bunch of bullies. In fact, the leader was still bleeding from the nose.

"You know, you shouldn't dwell on your defeats." I smirk, leaning back in the chair, putting my feet on the desk.

"Ahem. Mr. Tial." **(pronounced shal.) **"Can you please take your feet off the desk."

"No thanks Les." I respond. Ugggh. Really? Did I really have to do this? His eyebrow raised, and the three bullies, Guiness, Lyle, and Colin by the name on their plates were cackling. Ritz gave me a look. Like she couldn't believe how much I changed since I last opened my mouth.

"Alright. We're going to learn about long division today." Mr. Leslaie instructs us. "Please turn your book to page 357, and get your notebooks out." He then starts a lecture on something that I knew for a quite a while. Instead, I absentmindedly doodled. Until Guiness snatched the book from my hand.

"Hey look! Elm is just a prissy! Look at this!" He cackled, holding the notebook up. I gag as I see that I had unwittingly drawn Giza Plains, a lush place filled with flowers, giant bugs, and fairys. Fairy's with the power to make meteors fall from the heaven on top of their opponents, but fairies none of the less. To make it worse, despite my usage of doodling, it was a very detailed drawing. The three cackled loudly.

"What is this? A butterfly lady? Wahahahaha!" Lyle laughed.

"Hey. What's that?" Colin asked, pointing to the side. It was a fairy catching the blade of a really bulky warrior. To my surprise, they whistled. "That is hard core."

"True dat." Guiness said, pointing out new stuff that he found cool.

"Look at that!" Lyle went wide eyed as he saw in the bushes was a dead warrior, a Fairy feasting on his remains. Yeah, I just took everything you knew about Fairies, and then told you the truth. "That is awesome! Look! That one is holding a heart! And she took a bite out of it."

"Alright! That is it! Mr. Tial! You have detention after school!" Mr. Leslaie said, taking the book. I shrugged. I was trapped in Sprohm Prison for 4 days with nothing but toilet water to drink and moldy bread to eat. Their isn't much you can do to a guy after that. That was when Guiness yelled in joy.

"Snow!" Everyone ran outside, but me, Ritz, Mewt, and Marche. Mewt and Marche left together, talking quietly. Once they left, I headed towards the door.

"Now hold on a moment." Ritz said, grabbing my shoulder. I sigh, stopping in my tracks. "What happened to you before?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, forcing a sneer. Ritz walked over and grabbed the notebook and started flipping through it. "Put that down!" I tried grabbing it from her, but I swear she was faster than a Viera. She kept dodging each of my grabs. She jumped onto a chair, and then a table, and then she pulled herself onto the top of a tall filing cabinet. She then started leafing through the notebook.

"Hey, these are pretty good. Is this a Viera?" She asked, showing a picture of an archer with large rabbit ears.

"Yeah." I say, a blush creeping to my cheeks. She turns over to the next page and her eyes widen.

"What's this." She shows me the tear stained page. It depicted me holding the book, holding it up high and saying my wish. Evangeline was standing there with a scared look on her face, darkness seeming to gather around her as my other clan members were fighting off the shadow creatures.

"Nothing." Idiot! Noone with half a wit in his head would have tried something. Anything! Say you saw it while beating a nerd to a pulp! Say you saw it in your dreams! You never say nothing! She was silent for a moment.

"You're a good actor. But I can see the truth." Ritz said, narrowing her eyes. Crap! She knows? "You're just acting like a bully so you won't get bullied!" I sigh. That's it?

"Yes. You got me." I lie.

"Why didn't you say so? Come on, or Mr. Leslaie's going to get impatient." I allow her to pull me outside of the six classroom school building and outside.

"Well, Mewt has to sit out! He is the weakest and we have an uneven amount of players!" Colin yelled, being as subtle as a herd of angry water buffalo.

"No one is sitting out." Mr. Leslaie said simply.

"It isn't going to be fair if we have to go 4 on 5!" Guiness spoke up.

"Then how about 5 on 5." I heard myself say. Mr. Leslaie stares over at me.

"I can't participate in this snowball fight." He said, bewildered.

"No, no! That isn't what I'm saying." I reply. I pull a phone the color of the snow that Lyle **didn't **pee in. I flip it open and call.

"Nya! Hello! This is Rooftop Cat!" Arria used her code name.

"Hello. Can you please come over? I was thinking snowball fight. 5 on 5. You game?"

"Nya! I haven't had an engagement in a while! Even if it is with balls of snow instead of magic. I'll be there. Rooftop Cat out! Nya!" And the phone goes silent. A minute later, Arria flips off of the school building, heading down to earth face first. Of course, at the last second she flipped onto her feet. That was a nice show of a Neko's skill. They cause blows to hurt less cause they will always land on their feet. No matter what you do, they will always land on their feet. They won't always land safetly, but they will always land on their feet. Luckily, Arria had changed clothes into a tight fitting pair of jeans and a thick shirt. She also had a snowcap to hide her ears. "Nya! Hear for duty!" She said, saluting.

"Nya?" Mewt asked.

"Nya bet!" She replied. "Now, how does this work." She stoops down and starts clawing at the snow.

"There's your tenth player. She's home-schooled." I tell him.

"Speaking of which, I gotta go soon. You know, I'm bad with long division." She smiled.

"Oh! I can help you!" Ritz offered. "We just happen to have just learned long division." Arria's eyes grew wide, as did mine.

"Oh there's no need for that." I chuckle.

"What are you, her father?" Ritz snapped. Me and Arria exchanged glances.

"Yes." The following laughter was contagious, and I grinned widely.

"Hey! Whatever happened to pegging each other with snowballs, nya?" Arria meowed.

"Yes. Of course." Mr. Leslaie said, wiping his brow. He blows his whistle loudly. Everyone heads to their sides. It was Guiness, Colin, Arria, Sharline, and Ritz on one side of the snow covered yard, and me, Lyle, Mewt, Marche, and Prisya on the other.

"Aww, man! Why do I get stuck on the weak team?" Lyle asked. "We're just gonna lose. Where's the fun in that?" Lyle walks over to Mewt. "Hey, Mewt. Where's your little bear today?" Mewt looks down, not answering.

Colin stepped in. "He didn't want his precious bear to get wet in the snow!" Colin poked fun of Mewt.

"Aww... Did your mommy give you that bear?" Guiness cackled. Marche stepped up.

"What's your problem, New Kid?" Lyle asked.

"Leave him alone. He's not going to say anything anyway. He's like a little girl!" Guiness chuckled. Needless to say, Arria and Ritz didn't take to kindly to that.

"Hey! That's gender discrimination! And I know some 'little girls' who can kick your butt!" Ritz then walked over to our side of the yard.

"Whoa, Ritz! What's your problem?" Lyle asked.

"You don't want to be on that team, right?" Ritz asked. "How about we switch? Would that be better? Let's start already!" Colin then walks over to the other side. "You should speak up." She whispered to Marche. "You can't be the 'new kid' forever."

"Sorry, Marche." Mewt apoligized.

"You don't have to apoligize, Mewt." Marche replied. "You haven't done anything wrong."

"OK Mr. Leslaie, we're ready to go!" Ritz yelled.

"Then let's get this snowball fight started! Ready?" Arria 'accidently' slipped, and the snowball struck Guiness in the back of the head. Guiness fell facefirst into the snow.

"Mr. Leslaie! She hit me with a snowball!" Guiness said, slightly muffled by the snow.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just have the aim of a little girl." She smiled innocently, hands behind her back.

"Begin!" He let out a whistle and everyone got ready for the fight.

"Gotten used to the snow in St. Ivalice yet, you two?" He asked, pointing to me and Marche. "It's much warmer where you're from, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir. It never snowed. This is practically my first snowball fight."

"Same here. Phoenix, Arizona." **A/N: Fifth biggest city in the USA. **"You'd be lucky if it hit fifty in the winter time." Mr. Leslaie went over some stuff about snowball fights, I really just wasn't paying attention. I could jump onto the school roof without even trying. I could run the length of St. Ivalice without need of a break. Hell, I could make thunder fall from a blue sky.

"Good luck, Marche. Elm." She said, snapping me from my current thoughts (can you use ice magic to make ice cubes?) and prepared for the oncoming snowball fight.


	4. You never mess with a mage

**Don't knw if I said this, but I don't own Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. There are some lines straight from the game. That is all.**

* * *

"Nya! I don't care who you are! You're going down!" Arria meowed loudly, scooping up a mound of snow and chucked it. It landed with a crack at the base of Colin's skull.

"Yow!" He yelled, jumping nearly a foot in the air. He rubbed his head. He turned to Arria, eyes blazing. "Hey! How'd you put this block of ice in this?" Mr. Leslaie blew his whistle loudly and walked over to Colin. Though, I already knew that he would only find a puddle of water.

"There's no ice block." Mr. Leslaie said crossly. "I wouldn't even consider it an ice cube." The now mad Mr. Leslaie went back to his position, blowing the whistle so to start the snowball fight. Snowballs went flying. However, I only dodged the ones thrown by Arria. Why? Because she was the only one throwing at someone besides Mewt. I snarled loudly, sending a teensy weensy bit of magic in their direction. Colin stopped suddenly.

"H-Hey! M-My leg! It's frozen!" He stammered, and sure enough, there was an inch of ice surrounding his leg. Guiness started hopping up and down as if he had fire ants in his pants. Well, they were on fire.

"Waah! Ouch! That hurts!" He yelled, rolling in the snow so as to put the fire out. Lyle was laughing his head off for five seconds before he started shivering.

"What happened now?" Mr. Leslaie asked, exasperated.

"C-C-Cold w-w-water in m-m-my undies." The short kid stammered, shivering violently.

"Oh for goodness sake!" Mr Leslaie shouted. Three snowballs went flying, all hitting Mewt in the head.

"Th-th-that's fu-fu-for what you d-d-did to us!" Lyle chattered.

"What! That's crazy talk!" Ritz yelled. "What kid has the power to do that?" I swallow loudly and kick the snow.

"He pr-pr-probably put ice wa-wa-water in my pants to g-g-g-g-get back at me for putting a fr-fr-frog in his!"

"Or maybe he's a witch!" Guiness shouted.

"That's absurd!" Ritz yelled. I could see Arria seething. I quickly run over and try to calm her down.

"They're a bunch of idiots." I whisper.

"They're just like those kids back in my day. You know, if that accusation was passed back in my time, they'd have tied a weight to his foot and threw him in the lake."

"You know humans. We're scared of the unknown." I whisper back.

"Come on. I'll just use a little Neko magic. Give em a scare. Just a simple rat spell." I could tell her tail was swishing.

"Remember the last time I let you do that?" I reminded her.

"Fingers grow back, don't they?" She replied.

"No. And I had to do quite a lot to make up for that. Causing several dead end kidnappings is not easy."

"It is if the kidnapped was digested."

"Sometimes I wonder about you."

"Yeah, but my cuteness makes up for that." She said with a wink. Barftastic.

"No. Magic. In. Broad. Daylight." I say slowly.

"Nya." She mewed sadly.

"And I'm calling your parents." Mr. Leslaie finished telling the bullies off. "Alright. Snowball fight is over. Everyone can head on home." Thank goodness! I grab Arria's hand and start walking away. Until there was a loud crunching noise that I've heard quite a few times before. A crunching of rock against bone. I wince, and turn. Colin was wiping the excess snow from his mitts, while Mewt was holding his forehead.

* * *

(Marche's POV)

Something thick was coming from between Mewt's fingers. Something thick and red.

"Mewt. You forehead is bleeding!" I yell, bewildered.

"There was a rock in that snowball!" Ritz gasped.

"I didn't throw any rocks!" Colin yelled loudly.

"The snowball fight was over!" Mr. Leslaie snarled. "Two weeks." As Mr. Leslaie led Colin away, I noticed Elm pulling against Arria's shirt. Arria was trying to run in the other direction, yelling something at the top of her lungs.

"Let me at him! I'll claw his eyes out, nya!" She spat, clawing the air. For a second, I thought I saw a tail dart out from her pants. But of course, after a quick rub of the eyes, the stupid hallucination was gone. But... was it really a hallucination? Yes! It-It had to be. People don't have tails... right?

"Remember the rules?" He grunted. The girl finally went limp, and Elm slowly let go, and draped an arm around her shoulder. "Listen. I know it's hard on you. But, you're gonna have to keep a level head."

"Yes. You're right."

* * *

(After bandaging Mewt...)

(Elm's POV)

"Hey Mummy-Face! How'ya doin'?" Arria asked. Receiving a playful punch by Ritz. We all start trudging through the snow, a group of five.

"Uh, um..." Mewt stammered, stopping. We all turn to him. "Thank you."

"I can't stand bullies who pick on little kids. Those jerks!" Ritz snarled.

"Bullies make my tail twitch." The other three stare at her. Dammit Arria, are you trying to blow our cover?

"Ahahaha! Good ol' Arria! Your jokes are the best!" I slap her hard on the back as a reminder.

"So, Marche. What are you doing after this?" Mewt asked.

"Huh? Why?" He stammered.

"I was going to buy this book..." Mewt started. "... And I was wondering if you guys wanted to come too." He tensed up, as if expecting a bunch of shouting.

"As long as it doesn't grant wishes." I reply, smiling.

"Really? That seems like an odd request." Ritz replied.

"Well, I'm odd."

"I was just going to give myself a bath." Arria replied, shrugging.

"Sorry, I can't." Marche said, shaking his head. Mewt looked downhearted. "My little brother's getting out of the hospital today."

"Hospital! Was he sick?" Ritz asked, concern.

"No, it's something he was born with." Marche replied. "We have to take him to the hospital every now and then."

"I would have no idea what that is like." I say, clutching my leg absentmindedly.

"Wow, that's rough." Ritz said.

"What kind of book are you going to buy?" Marche asked Mewt, obviously trying to change the subject.

"It's about monsters and magic and stuff like that." Mewt explained. I stiffened.

"Monsters?" Arria asked nervously.

"Magic?" I asked in a similair way.

"Why don't you bring it over to my house?" Marche offered. "I'm sure Doned, my brother, would love to see it."

"Well... if you're sure it's okay..." Mewt said quietly.

"Why don't you guys come too?" Marche offered to the rest of us.

"Me? Um, gee, I guess I don't have any other plans... ok!" Ritz shouted.

"You've heard our answers." Arria replied. Catching glances with me.

"Great! Do you know where my house is?" Marche asked. I saw it while we were heading to school. It was-

"It's the yellow house, right?" Ritz asked.

"I'll come over as soon as I buy the book!" Mewt yelled.

"I'll be waiting." Marche replied. And with that, we left school together.

* * *

"Gosh. I'm really sorry." A man with shaggy hair said to two other men. We stopped where we were. It wasn't exactly a private discussion.

"Uh-oh..." Mewt said quietly.

"I'm really, really sorry. Please accept my apoligies..." The man with the shaggy hair said.

"Mr. Randell. We expect a certain level of performance." The man in the green suit replied unemotionally. "Regardless of circumstances."

"It won't happen again." Mr. Randell replied.

"Don't worry, I'll fix things up here." The green suited man said.

"Oh, thanks, thanks!" Mr. Randell said joyously.

"Thank you for waiting. Shall we?" Green Suit said, turning to the second man, this one in a blue jacket. The two headed down a side street.

"Look at that guy, cringing like that. Embarrassing." Ritz said coldly. That hair... his attitude... By jove! I think that's-

"Mewt? Mewt, it is you!" Mr. Randell shouted.

"... Hi dad." Mewt said quietly. Just as I suspected!

"School's out already?" He asked, his son joining him in front of the cafe.

"Yeah..."

"These your friends?" He asked, glancing over us. I could tell Arria was waving, her tongue stuck out. Mewt nodded.

"Um, don't you still have work to do, Dad?"

"Ah... yes! Busy busy busy!" I highly doubted that. He then turned to us. "You all keep an eye on Mewt for me, eh?" He walked down a flight of stairs that led to the lower part of the city.

"He used to work at a bigger company before. When mom died, he stopped caring. He broke down big time." Mewt said, tears coming to his eyes.

"He seems nice. Not many parents talk to their kids like that. I bet you used to go out on vacations and stuff a lot." Marche said. "Well, we'll be waiting for you at my place." And with that, he walked down the stairs, in the same direction as Mewt's dad.

"Yeah, we gotta go too. See ya later!" I say, Arria and I heading in the same direction as Green Suit. Unbeknownst to the horrors that would befall me in the following hours.

* * *

**YES! The good part is right around the corner! Sorry I didn't update sooner. That's my bad. See you soon! ~Lichylichy.**


	5. Failure, magic books, and unicorn horns

**Well, here's my favorite part so far. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

I've changed into my good cothes. No, not the one with the tie, but the one with the collar. So, Arria had chose to wear more revealing clothes. If she wasn't a monster, she'd be freezing her tail off. We wait patiently for Mewt and Ritz to arrive. We haven't even gone inside, and since no one was looking, I had lit a fire in my hand with magic.

"Nya! You are a rule breaker!" Arria insisted for the fifth time in ten minutes.

"I wonder what barbecued cat will taste like."

"Admit it!" She said, ignoring the comment.

"Is it true if I cut off your whiskers, then you'd fall over."

"Don't deny it!"

"Shh! They're coming." I snuff the fire out, and put on a huge smile.

"Hey. Did you see a light over here?" Ritz asked. And then she caught Arria's unnatural choice of winter clothing. "Uh, Arria? How long have you been out here?"

"Oh, ten minutes or so." Arria replied nonchalantly.

"Aren't you cold?" Mewt asked, trying to get a firmer hold on a book that was completely wrapped in paper.

"Nyah." Arria said, before knocking on the door. A woman that I assumed to be Marche's mother answered.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"We're Marche's friends from school." Ritz said, smiling.

"Oh, isn't that sweet. Marche! Your guests are here!" She yelled up the stairs.

"Tell them to come on up!" Marche's voice came from upstairs.

"Go on up." Marche's mom said happily. We walked slowly up the stairs. I could hear Marche talking with someone.

"Only 'cause there's nothing else to do at the hospital. Nothing except read and play games..." The second voice said. That was probably Doned.

"Hello! We're here!" Ritz called.

"Nya! Everyone better have clothes on!" She earned a smack on the back of the head from me. "Nya? What'd I say?" She asked as she walked in. She stuck out like a sore thumb, and that was compared to Doned, who was in a wheelchair. Everyone else was bundled up in thick sweaters. Arria noticed a small stove.

"Ooooh." She curled up by the fire, purring quietly.

"You mudt be Doned! I'm Ritz. I'm your brother's classmate." Mewt remained quiet. "And this is Mewt."

"Name's Elm. That's Arria. We're from Arizona." I say, shaking his hand.

"Hiya." He said, staring questioningly at Arria.

"You get that book, Mewt?" Marche asked. Mewt sat down and began pulling out a book. Everyone was so focused on the book, that thankfully I was the only one who noticed that Arria's ears were visible, and her tail swished behind her.

"Can you please excuse us?" I ask, trying to hide the sudden dry, scaly skin on the left side of my face.

"Huh? Okay." Mewt said, trying to see what I was hiding. I smile widely, before running into the bathroom, Arria not far behind.

"Not exactly the guy I'd want to be in a bathroom with." Arria mewed.

"Now's not the time to be picky." I reply, feeling a small bump on my forehead. "What do you think is making our true forms come out?"

"Nya! Baka! Hon!" Arria hissed.

"Book?"

"Hon no Mewt-san!"

"What about Mewt's book?"

"Hon no Mewt-san, Chrysallis."

"No, that's crazy."

"Baka!"

"I'm not an idiot."

"Then." She said, clearing her throat. "What other 'cool book' would do this, huh?"

"Erm..."

"That's what I thought." With a tearing sound, the horn made its way through my skin, poking out of my skull.

"That suits you."

"Oh shut up."

"Feeling horny?"

"I will kill you. Sssssslowly and painfully." I snarl, but it was getting harder to speak clearly now that my jaw was jutting out, and my tongue became smaller and less able to make words. My hands move to my mouth. "Thissssss isssss bullssssshit."

"*snicker* You- sound- funny!" She said, trying to stifle her laughter.

"Oh look, you're getting fat." She gasped before looking down. Okay, truthfully, she wasn't getting fat. But she was getting larger. She managed to get out of her clothes as the last of the green fur covered her body, and her bone structure became more feline. And large. She jumped out of the window, swinging onto the roof.

"I don't like you." She literally growled. I step out after her, and a green paw grabbed me by my arm. Our true forms were appearing, and let me tell ya, Frankenstein's monster got off easy compared to me. And Arria was alot better than me. She had a tail, cat ears, and slitted pupils. She also had paws instead of hands, and whiskers. She was your average Neko.

"Look at me!" I gesture at my tail which was starting to tear through my pants, and then to the horn on my head, and then to the left side of my face, which was scaly and dry.

"Yeah. Maybe you could join the circus!"

"Oh yeah, a circus would accept me." I reply, forcing sarcasm into my voice.

"Oh, come off it." Arria said quietly. She curled herself around me. "You're still the same on the inside. No book will change that."

"Change! Arria! A wish! If they do have the book then they will make a wish! It's the magic in the book!" I look into the window of Marche and Doned's bed room.

"If you could use magic, maybe you'd be better at sports!" Doned said, causing fits of laughter to come from the rest.

"That's not funny!" Marche yelled, red coming to his face.

"Hah hah. It's true!" Doned cackled.

"It'd be cool if this really were a magic book..." Mewt said. Oh, if only you knew. "Haven't you ever read a book and thought 'What if the world in this book was the real world?' " Over my dead body!

"I dunno. Most books are soooo boring." Ritz responded.

"We've got to get in there!" I whispered to Arria.

"Oh, that will go over well." She responded. "A neko and a mage walk into a human's house-"

"And this is where the duck says 'Put it on my bill', right?" I ask sarcastically.

"I was going to say it would cause hysteria."

"Then we grab the book. They haven't made a wish yet! There's still time!"

"Okay, if you could make any game real, which would it be?" Marche asked.

"I'd pick Final Fantasy. That's my favorite." Mewt responded.

"Uh oh." Arria whispered.

"What?" I ask.

"The conversation had everything needed to make a wish."

"What!"

"Mewt said the incantation, there was the word wish, and Mewt said he'd want the world to be like Final Fantasy. That's just enough."

"Oh, come on. That sounds like a faulty contract!"

"Shhh. They're leaving." Arria whispered, before jumping off of the roof. I shrugged to myself, before jumping after her. We landed in an alley way next to a light pole. "Hey! Elm isn't feeling good!" She yelled at the kids that were leaving the house.

"Oh my! Let me see." Ritz said, walking over to us. Thinking fast, I changed some of the snow beneath our feet to water and made wrenching sounds. Liquid came into the light, a green color from a special mixture that I poured into the water. Ritz stepped back.

"I'm taking him home!" Arria yelled, before pretending to help me to my feet and threw my arm around her shoulder. As soon as we were on the other side of the alley, I slumped to my knees. "Elm?"

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-"

"Spit out." She said softly, stooping down and putting a hand around my back.

"I've failed." I croaked.

"Elm, you haven't failed."

"Yes I have. There's one thing that I have to do, and that is keep the supernatural and the humans from mixing." To my surprise, she pulled me into a soft hug.

"You haven't failed. It'll just be a bit rocky from now on. We'll fix it." She helps me to my feet, and we slowly trudge back home. But none of her words would stop the tears streaming down my cheeks.


End file.
